LOGAN, Utah, July 6, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah State University has suspended a football player for “inappropriate racial comments.”
A tweet from USU Athletics Sunday night said: “We have been made aware of inappropriate racial comments made by a current student-athlete on our football team. This will not be tolerated and we have suspended the individual immediately, and pending an investigation will take appropriate action.”
The statement is signed John Hartwell, vice president and athletics director, and Gary Andersen, head coach.
The university did not identify the player.
Back on June 3, USU Football released the following statement on Twitter: “Our locker room is full of young men diverse in background, race and beliefs and is a locker room full of equal opportunity, togetherness and respect. It is a locker room of core values that include respecting and caring for teammates and others around us.
“Recent events in our country remind us of the privilege we have to be coaches and of our responsibility as educators. Though not perfect, we strive to build a culture of love, respect and opportunity for all. We strive to treat each young man as if they are our very own. Our goals for them include success academically, socially and athletically on the field and beyond football. The experiences we have with our team provide some of the most meaningful relationships we have in this life.
“Meaningful change will come as we take responsibility for ourselves to be better. As a staff, we are committed to being part of the solution by cultivating attitudes of understanding, fostering respect, creating opportunity for all, and working to build bridges that unite us as individuals, as the Aggie Football Family and as citizens of our nation.”
Gephardt Daily will have more on this developing story as information is made available.
